An Ancient Honour in a Modern City: Clothed in History

13 March 2026

We are proud to celebrate a significant milestone for Gapuma Communications’ adviser, Shahab Mossavat, who was formally admitted as a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers at a ceremony held on Thursday at Saddlers’ Hall in the City of London.

The ritual of admission – known as “clothing” – is one of the oldest civic ceremonies in England. The Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers traces its origins to at least 1416, when its first recorded Master, Thomas White, is documented, though records suggest the guild existed well before that date. As a newly clothed Liveryman, Shahab becomes a full member of the Company, with the right to participate in its governance and charitable work.

The honour carries real civic weight. Liverymen of the City’s livery companies elect the City’s Sheriffs and approve the aldermanic candidates for election to the office of Lord Mayor of London – a constitutional role that places Shahab within one of the most distinctive and ancient electoral bodies in the world.

The ceremony coincided with the Company’s Craft Awards 2026 – a fitting occasion, given the Tylers and Bricklayers’ long commitment to craft excellence. The Company makes awards in three disciplines: bricklaying, roof slating and tiling, and hard-surface wall and floor tiling – recognising outstanding students, military trainees and, every three years, the finest examples of these crafts in completed buildings within the M25 boundary.

The principal guest at the awards lunch was Selina Bolingbroke, Principal of the Building Crafts College in London – an institution the Company has long supported.

Congratulations, Shahab. A proud day, and the beginning of a deeper chapter in one of the City’s most enduring institutions.